幻灯 (huàn dēng) — slide projector; magic lantern; slide show; slides

Definition

幻灯 usually appears in compounds meaning 'slide projector' (幻灯机) or 'slide show' (幻灯片) — a dated term for projecting still images, now mostly replaced by digital presentations.

noun
slide projectormagic lanternslide showslides
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 幻灯。
    Lǎo shī yòng huàn dēng gěi wǒ men kàn lì shǐ tú piàn.
    The teacher used a slide projector to show us historical pictures.
  • 幻灯。
    Jīn wǎn xué xiào yǒu yí gè guān yú huán jìng bǎo hù de huàn dēng.
    Tonight the school has a slide show about environmental protection.
  • 幻灯，。
    Zhè tái huàn dēng yǐ jīng hěn jiù le, xū yào huàn yí gè dēng pào.
    This slide projector is very old and needs a new bulb.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

幻huànillusion
灯dēnglamp

幻 suggests illusion or magic, 灯 is a lamp; together they name a slide projector.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 幻 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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